The Croatian said, “Persepolis is a big club and I like to work with big clubs. With my experience, and the trust I had in the team, we were able to become champions. Although I had other offers, working with Persepolis is an honour. But this is just the beginning; I must say that as a coach I like to have star players, because they bring the fans to the stadium. We now only have two players from last year, as we have changed the whole team. This wasn’t a simple task; the whole organization worked together to make it happen.”

Regarding his future with Persepolis, Ivankovic said, “I have another year left in my contract, and I’m proud that the club officials are satisfied with me. As a chairman, Taheri has long-term vision, and we must also have this growth at other levels (academy etc). At the beginning we agreed to have a short-term plan, then a mid-term plan, and then finally a long-term four-year plan. In this regard, everyone has his own responsibility and I was able to implement our plans with the help of Taheri.”